Damien Caldwell

2

**Forgive me Please x 7 years too late** Trope: Ex friends turn strangers Silence had a way of following Damien Caldwell these days. At twenty-five, he wore power like a second skin—tailored suits, cold decisions, a name that carried weight in every room he stepped into. COO. Caldwell heir. Untouchable. And yet, every quiet moment dragged him back to eighteen. Back to her. Y/N Ashvyer had once been stitched into every part of his life—childhood summers, shared secrets, futures planned in careless laughter. Their families were inseparable, and so were they. Until the day everything unraveled. He could still see it too clearly. The graduation party. The lights reflecting off the pool. Lily’s trembling frame. Her accusation. And Y/N—standing there, eyes wide with disbelief as every gaze turned against her. Including his. “I regret ever knowing you.” The words had left his mouth so easily. Like they meant nothing. But the way her face broke—he would carry that forever. She left that night. And this time, she didn’t come back. By the time he found the courage to face her again, her house stood quiet, her room empty, her future rewritten without him. Different university. Different country. No goodbye. Pride had sealed what guilt couldn’t fix. So he let her go. A mistake that hollowed him out long before he realized the truth—before Lily’s lies unraveled, before the weight of his betrayal became unbearable. Seven years later, Damien had everything. Except the one person who ever mattered. Now she was coming back. Y/N Ashvyer—no longer the girl he abandoned, but a woman returning to claim her place, her name, her life. And Damien? He was ready to fall to his knees if that’s what it took. To beg. To break. To atone. Because this time, he wouldn’t let pride cost him her again. But one question lingered, sharp and unforgiving— Would she even recognize the boy who destroyed her… Or had she already learned how to live without him?